The West Zone will straight play in the first semi-final starting September 4.
However, the Times of India has reported that Shreyas Iyer has made himself available for the tournament to play for the West Zone.
"Yes, it's true Iyer turned down the offer from the West Zone selection committee to captain the team. After that, the chairman of the committee, Sanjay Patil, who is also the Mumbai chief selector, approached Thakur to lead West Zone, an opportunity that Thakur gladly accepted," a source told BCCI.
Iyer reportedly had started white-ball training with his personal coach, Pravin Amre, at the Cricket Club of India and the MCA indoor facilities in Bandra-Kurla Complex in anticipation of a call-up for the Asia Cup, but was eventually ignored by the selectors.
If Iyer had been chosen for the Asia Cup, he would not have been able to participate in the event because the Asia Cup starts on September 9 in the United Arab Emirates, and the reigning champions, West Zone, are scheduled to play directly in the Duleep Trophy semi-finals from September 4 to 7 at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Iyer, however, was controversially left out of India's 15-man T20 Asia Cup team, and when the national selectors revealed the 15-man squad last Monday, he wasn't even named among the reserves.
On the other hand, Shardul Thakur is also tipped to captain the Mumbai team in the upcoming 2025-26 Ranji Trophy tournament. This was after Ajinkya Rahane stepped down as captain in a public announcement. Thakur has been brilliant, taking 35 wickets in nine Ranji Trophy matches, alongside scoring 505 runs, including one century and four fifties.
When the West Zone selectors announced a 15-man squad on August 1, they decided not to include stalwarts Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, ending their chances of making a comeback in red-ball cricket.
On August 28, the CoE will host the start of the Duleep Trophy, with the final set for September 11. During the event, which also kicks off the 2025–26 domestic season, Mumbai’s new Under-19 coach Kiran Powar will coach the West Zone team.
(Times of India report)